au revoir
by the alphabet soup
Summary: "I think I could have loved you, once." Six/Marina Human!AU.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Lorien Legacies.

**Title:** au revoir (stay with me)

**Pairing:** Sirina

"I think I could have loved you, once." Human!AU. Reverse chronological order.

* * *

><p><strong>x.<strong>

The water tastes bitter like coffee without cream and sugar. It reminds Marina of the winter. Of the summer. Of the seasons where the days were neither long nor short but gave not even a hint of kindness.

It reminds her of Maren.

Her trembling hand slams the half-empty glass on the table, catching the attention of a few customers scattered around her table. Within few seconds, they go back to their own business, and suddenly Marina is again alone with her own thoughts. She figures she always was, in the end. Thoughts are the only things that's ever stayed with her.

(She should be more bitter about that.)

.

**ix.**

"Marina, I'm sorry."

The line goes silent. The dull thud which follows doesn't resonate with Marina until she nearly trips over her cellphone the next morning. She falls backwards onto her bed - unmade, with piles of books stacked beside it - and she stares up at the map of the United States where a dark line is drawn across the continent.

Tears leak from her eyes, and before she can register the dull ache in her chest, Marina is sobbing her heart out.

.

**viii.**

Maren stares at the constellations, her hand firmly clutching Marina's ice-cold one. Cigarette smoke wraps around the two of them like a shroud, and Maren doesn't have to look at Marina to know she's grimacing.

"You shouldn't smoke. It's bad for your health."

Maren doesn't say anything, so Marina just sighs and rests her head on Maren's shoulder. Cold seeps into her skin, but Marina imagines that Maren can chase all of that away. "I'm sorry. I just - Can we stay like this a little longer?"

Maren hesitates. But her words still feel as warm as they used to be.

"Of course."

.

**vii.**

Marina thinks she loves her, sometimes. She thinks she loves the girl with short black hair and cigarette smoke mouth and steel eyes. She think she might love the way she smiles, genuine, at Marina, or maybe the way she frowns at the sky as if it is the source of all her troubles.

Marina thinks she loves her.

She wonders when that devolved from _knows_, and she wonder whats that means for her. For them.

.

**vi.**

"We should travel." Maren murmurs between each kiss she leaves on Marina's shoulder. "Go on a roadtrip across the states for a few weeks."

Marina rolls over so she's facing Maren, and she props herself up on her elbow. Maren's freckles remind her of constellations. "Where would we go first?"

"You pick." Snowflakes are falling outside, now, and Marina's almost sorry they're in her apartment rather than outside playing like a pair of children. Marina smiles at her. Maren smiles back.

"First Kansas." Maren raises her eyebrows.

"Why? Isn't that the most boring state ever? All you see are fields upon fields."

"We start with the boring states, then we can move on to the more fun ones." Marina kisses her once on the lips, but before she can pull away Maren cups her face and deepens the kiss. Maren rolls them over so she's straddling Marina, and soon all they can think about is the nonexistent space between them.

.

**v.**

"My mother, Katarina, died when I was thirteen. She was a workaholic. The funny this is, after that I started smoking this shit, so I figure I'm gonna die sooner than she did."

Maren's voice is monotone, like she reading the weekly obituaries out loud and Katarina is just another person who died who she has no attachment to. And Marina knows what this means, but she's helpless to soothe Maren of her grief.

"I'm sorry."

Maren offers her a smile that reaches her eyes. "Thanks. Sorry, I don't want to dump my problems on you."

Marina takes the shorter girl's hand and tries to convey her words through touch. It doesn't work because if Marina were to develop any supernatural ability it would be telepathy, but it makes Maren relax.

"It's okay. " Maren squeezes her hand, and Marina knows that everything will be okay eventually.

.

**iv.**

Maren kisses like she's dying.

It's like she knows her inevitable demise is just around the corner, and she thinks the only way she can prevent it is by kissing the person she holds most dear and holding them until her bones ache. Her hands tangle in Marina's long, brown hair, and her body presses Marina's to the wall. For such a small person she's remarkably strong.

But there's a softness to it, too. When she breaks away she smiles as if she's never been more happy in her entire life, and she presses her forehead to Marina's and breathes in her scent. She's everything Marina wants and everything Marina holds dear, and it almost surprises her.

.

**iii.**

The stars twinkling in the sky strain to be noticed away from the polluted air, but Marina can see them well enough to appreciate their ethereal beauty. The cool breeze which moves by doesn't chill her to the bone, and instead she welcomes it. She smiles.

Marina takes Maren's hand, and although the other girl hesitates at first, she doesn't pull away.

Never has she felt more content in this moment. Something about Maren Marina just admires, or gravitates to, and it feels as if some cosmic being was pulling them together so that they could look up at the stars like this.

.

**ii.**

"Hi, I'm Marina!"

The girl looks up from her book and gives her a small smile. "Hi."She looks back down, and Marina adds, "What's your name?"

The girl looks up again, and her smile appears a little more quickly this time. A few freckles dot her nose, and she looks even more beautiful up close. "Maren. Can I help you?"

Marina blushes and bites her lip. She thinks. And thinks. Then - "Do you want to go out sometime?"

Maren's eyebrows raise, but the smile never leaves her face. "Sure."

.

**i.**

The girl has short black hair and hazel eyes. Her skin is brown and she's remarkably short - she's at least four inches shorter than Marina. She wears a black tank top and skinny jeans, and she smells like an ashtray when she walks passed. She carries herself with purpose, and the people around her look at her briefly before turning away.

Marina thinks she's beautiful.


End file.
